Review- Brent Cobb: Ain't Rocked in a While
Photo by Jace Kartye
Brent Cobb is a name that most people who circle around country and alt-country circles have heard. A songwriter, who leans more quiet southern tales than his brethren. A writer who’s known for clever turn of phrase, and landscaping in the form of lyrics. If you’ve ever had the chance to see Brent live, you know that’s a little misleading. Brent Cobb live shows tend to be a wide open affair, you’re gonna get a rock and roll stage show. Brent, recognizing that this can be a little disorienting for his fanbase, decided to release a record that was more in line with the raucous live shows he’s been putting on for years. That’s where Ain’t Rocked in a While enters the world.
As someone who’s been on board for a while I’ve always thought that Brent’s voice has a quality that is drenched in rock and roll attitude. There’s an ease to the way he delivers those lines that feels familiar. Put that voice side by side with 70’s Southern rock icons and you’re going to immediately notice, it isn’t out of place. Ain’t Rocked in a While sounds like a pool hall that has too many ashtrays around to make sense, off the side of a half paved road, where somehow the dust never settles and Black Sabbath is blasting on the jukebox.
Brent’s music has always had some anachronistic qualities for me. There’s something inherently “classic” about the delivery and sound of almost all of Brent’s work. This record is no exception. It’s classic Southern rock, but not in a way that feels like an amalgamation of cliches. It’s a brand new record that feels vibrant, new and alive, but somehow feels like it has all the patina of a 70’s Les Paul that got left out of the case for too much of its life. I’m going to say this, unironically, this record has a vibe. It’s a new set of words from the mouth of an old soul.
Brent traditionally has recorded with studio musicians, but knowing he wanted to capture the vitality of his live shows, he brought The Fixin’s (Brent’s longtime live band) into the studio. For whatever my opinion is worth (not much), I’d say this is likely the best decision made for this record. It’s tight, but alive, there’s some push and pull from a sonic perspective that really only comes from people who spend too much time playing together. When I’m listening to a record the first few times, I try to isolate myself so I can drink it in. With Ain’t Rocked in a While, I was halfway through the title track for the record and immediately stopped. It was clear I was doing it wrong. I downloaded the record, hopped in my truck and took the record for a literal drive. The record sounds on the whole like that kind of record. A soundtrack to a summer that becomes a string of core memories.
The record isn’t a gimmick, it’s an intentional step in a direction. There are moments that pull back on the record. “In Our Hands” is one of those moments with clean picking, relatively clean guitars and some haunting melodies, reminiscent of the 70’s pop rock movement. That downshift doesn’t stick around for long. It bleeds directly into a duo of tracks that hit like a bomb. The bass drum and crying guitar before the main riff kicks in made me pause for a second to double check I hadn’t accidentally slipped a live version of Sabbath’s “Iron Man” into the rotation.
I’ll be honest, Ain’t Rocked in a While is not the record I expected from Brent Cobb in 2025. I’m extremely grateful that Brent subverted expectations. The record is interesting, guitar laden intentionally underproduced by today’s standard, and it makes the whole thing feel alive. In today’s ever growing reach for modernity and production in music, there’s something brave about releasing an unadulterated rock and roll record that sounds like people in a room making noise together.
On July 11, Ain’t Rocked in a While hits all the places where you consume music. My recommendation is call your friends, light a grill, imbibe, and turn it up so loud that your neighbors get to enjoy the newest offering from Brent Cobb. It really is that kind of record.
Find out more about Brent Cobb at the links below:
